Abstract
Fagraea berteroana is a tree used in traditional medicine in various islands of the South Pacific. Here, we studied its hair growth-inducing properties as suggested by one of its Marquesan ethno-uses in haircare. The ethyl acetate extract of the fruits of F. berteroana (FEAE) and four resulting fractions (FEAE-F0, FEAE-F1, FEAE-F2, and FEAE-F3) were tested on hair follicle dermal papilla cells to determine their cell proliferative activity. Furthermore, RT-qPCR analysis enabled gene modulation analysis, while immunostaining of the β-catenin protein was used to follow protein regulation. We found that the plant extracts induced a controlled, dose-dependent cell proliferation. FEAE-F0 simultaneously down-regulated Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 (BMP2) mRNA expression and upregulated Cyclin-D1 (CCND1) gene expression, which suggests an involvement in the regulation of the Wnt and Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGFβ) pathways that control the hair cycle. FEAE-F0 exhibited a 1.34-fold increase of nuclear β-catenin protein. This is indicative of an active hair growth state. Thus, we conclude that FEAE-F0 could be an innovative candidate in hair care, which opens interesting leads to promote the Marquesan cosmetopoeia.
Highlights
Overall body care is an essential routine in Polynesian customs, as depicted by the confection and daily use of monoi and other natural preparations for embellishment [1,2,3]
After 24 h of treatment, F. berteroana extract (FEAE) and FEAE-F0 induced a dose-dependent proliferation of hair follicle dermal papilla cells (HDPCs) (Figure 2A,E)
After 48 h of treatment, FEAE-F0 induced a dose-dependent proliferation of HDPCs, along with FEAE-F3
Summary
Overall body care is an essential routine in Polynesian customs, as depicted by the confection and daily use of monoi and other natural preparations for embellishment [1,2,3]. Hair is an important physical feature in French Polynesia’s society; it is the second most cited application area of cosmetics after the skin, in the Marquesas Islands [3]. The imagery of Polynesians with long, luxurious, and silky dark hair is widespread, even to this day (Figure 1, [4,5]). Fagraea berteroana were rubbed on cadavers head to prevent hair from shedding [7]. Fagraea berteriana, is a tree of moderate height, naturally distributed throughout the South Pacific, except for Hawaii where it has been introduced. It is known under several names such as pualulu in Samoa, pua kenikeni in Hawaii, pua ‘enana or ka’upe in the Marquesas
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